When Things Go Wrong

Friday, March 28, 2008

1. When Things Go Wrong

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."1

Today's Daily Encounter is from an insightful anonymous poet.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
So don't give up, though the pace seems slow –
For you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
it seems to a fain and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when the night
slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure, turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you
mustn't quit.2

As Dale Carnegie said, "Most of the important things in the world have been accompanied by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, in all of life's struggles I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please give me the wisdom to know when to keep hanging on and never quit and when, if I am heading in the wrong direction, to stop, look and listen, and turn around and go in the right direction. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT).
2. Anonymous.

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